Take Three: Welcome to the Family (Last Episode)

Welcome to the Family: Season 1, Episode 3 “The Big RV Adventure” (B)

Well, that didn’t last long. I was concerned last week that this show would soon be axed, and, wouldn’t you know it, it took just over three weeks for NBC to decide that it wasn’t worth its time. This episode was indicative of a slight dip in quality, but it certainly didn’t merit immediate cancellation. What this episode did feature which was positive was more of Molly, who is proving to be intelligent enough to figure out that there’s something up with her boyfriend not wanting to have sex with her but still naïve enough to bring the problem to her mother. Katrina expressing a combination of rage at Dan for buying an RV and hunger for the burger resulted in a rather over-the-top field trip to the drive-thru, with Molly and a shirtless Junior in the back helpless to do anything about the situation. I’m not convinced that enough people watched this show to realize what wasn’t great about it, but I will admit that perhaps its broad nature might have been disappointing. It also did seem a bit early in the show’s run to feature Eva Longoria, who for those paying attention played Ricardo Chavira’s onscreen wife on “Desperate Housewives,” as Demetrio’s teacher and Miguel’s ex-girlfriend, though she was fine if not particularly hilarious. It was also strange to see Jamie McShane, most memorable to me as a murderous Irishman on “Sons of Anarchy,” as the cop not seduced by Lisette at the encouragement of Miguel. I do hope that this show’s remaining filmed episodes get put online somewhere, since this show deserved more than three short installments.